Circular Knit Metal Resin Implant for Bone Fragment Fixation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for treating bone fractures, such as pinning, screw fixation, plate fixation, external fixation, and intramedullary nail fixation, are challenging for bones like the patella, olecranon, calcaneus, or greater trochanter, as they require precise screw placement and are time-consuming, leading to longer surgery times and higher costs.
Innovation Solution
A biocompatible metal knit implant formed by knitting a metal string into a cylindrical shape using circular knitting, which can be expanded, contracted, and deformed to securely fix bone fragments, allowing for flexible placement and fixation of small bone fragments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional fixation methods (screw fixation, plate fixation, pinning) are used for crushed bone fractures, then the bone fragments can be fixed, but the surgery time becomes long and the procedure becomes complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a flexible net structure made of wire mesh that can be conformally wrapped around irregularly shaped bone fragments. This flexible net replaces rigid fixation methods with a adaptable structure that secures multiple small fragments simultaneously without requiring precise screw placement, thereby reducing surgical time while maintaining fixation reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The net structure is divided into multiple interconnected wire elements forming a mesh pattern. This segmentation allows the net to adapt to complex bone fragment geometries and provides multiple anchoring points distributed across the fracture site, enabling secure fixation of numerous small fragments in a single procedure
2Reliability
If conventional fixation methods are used for crushed bone fractures, then the bone fragments can be fixed, but the device complexity increases due to multiple components required
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates multiple fixation functions into a single net structure component. The wire mesh net simultaneously provides fragmentation control, positioning, and stabilization that would otherwise require separate plates, screws, and pins. This merging reduces the number of components from multiple discrete elements to one unified structure, simplifying the device while maintaining comprehensive fixation capability
Solution Approach 2:
The net structure serves multiple functions: it acts as a containment cage for bone fragments, provides structural support, enables vascularization through its porous design, and facilitates positioning. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate specialized components for each function, reducing overall device complexity while ensuring reliable fixation
3Strength
If rigid fixation structures are used, then structural strength is provided, but stress shielding occurs which prevents bone tissue from maintaining its strength
Solution Approach 1:
The wire mesh net inherently creates a porous structure with interconnected spaces between wire elements. This porosity allows bone tissue to grow through the structure and maintain mechanical loading pathways, preventing stress shielding while still providing structural support. The porous design enables stress distribution that mimics natural bone mechanics, avoiding the harmful effects of rigid fixation
4Adaptability or versatility
If the implant needs to adapt to various bone shapes and fracture patterns, then versatility is improved, but manufacturing precision becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The wire mesh net possesses inherent flexibility and dynamic adaptability, allowing it to be deformed and shaped during surgery to match irregular bone surfaces and fracture configurations. This dynamic property enables a single standardized component to adapt to diverse anatomical variations without requiring custom-manufactured implants for each patient, maintaining manufacturing precision while achieving high versatility
Data Source
AI summary
A new implant for bone fracture treatment that can easily and securely fix bone fragments is provided. An implant 2 for bone fracture treatment that covers bone fragments gathered at a site to be treated for a bone fracture in a living body and reduces and fixes the site invasively includes a metal knit portion 10 formed by knitting a metal string 11 constituted by one or a plurality of biocompatible metal string elements 12 into a cylindrical shape by circular knitting. The implant 2 further includes a resin knit portion 30 formed by knitting a resin string 31 constituted by one or a plurality of biocompatible resin string elements into a cylindrical shape by circular knitting. The metal knit portion 10 and the resin knit portion 30 are knitted to be continuous in an axial direction.